Isaiah 1:21

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Isaiah 1:19–23 · Berean Standard Bible

19 If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best of the land.

20 But if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

21 See how the faithful city has become a harlot! She once was full of justice; righteousness resided within her, but now only murderers!

22 Your silver has become dross; your fine wine is diluted with water.

23 Your rulers are rebels, friends of thieves. They all love bribes and chasing after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, and the plea of the widow never comes before them.

Hebrew words

Data created by STEPBible.org based on work at Tyndale House Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

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Cross-references

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge lists these related verses. Scripture text comes from the Berean Standard Bible.

Isaiah 48:2

who indeed call yourselves after the holy city and lean on the God of Israel; the LORD of Hosts is His name.

Nehemiah 11:1

Now the leaders of the people settled in Jerusalem, and the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to live in the holy city of Jerusalem, while the remaining nine were to dwell in their own towns.

Psalms 46:4

There is a river whose streams delight the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.

Psalms 48:1

Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, His holy mountain.

Psalms 48:8

As we have heard, so we have seen in the city of the LORD of Hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish her forever. Selah

Hosea 11:12

Ephraim surrounds Me with lies, the house of Israel with deceit; but Judah still walks with God and is faithful to the Holy One.

Zechariah 8:3

This is what the LORD says: “I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the LORD of Hosts will be called the Holy Mountain.”

Hebrews 12:22

Instead, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to myriads of angels

Jeremiah 2:20

“For long ago you broke your yoke and tore off your chains, saying, ‘I will not serve!’ Indeed, on every high hill and under every green tree you lay down as a prostitute.

Jeremiah 2:21

I had planted you like a choice vine from the very best seed. How could you turn yourself before Me into a rotten, wild vine?

Jeremiah 3:1

“If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him to marry another, can he ever return to her? Would not such a land be completely defiled? But you have played the harlot with many lovers— and you would return to Me?” declares the LORD.

Lamentations 1:8

Jerusalem has sinned greatly; therefore she has become an object of scorn. All who honored her now despise her, for they have seen her nakedness; she herself groans and turns away.

Lamentations 1:9

Her uncleanness stains her skirts; she did not consider her end. Her downfall was astounding; there was no one to comfort her. Look, O LORD, on my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed!

Ezekiel 16:1

Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

Ezekiel 16:2

“Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her abominations

Ezekiel 16:3

and tell her that this is what the Lord GOD says to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth were in the land of the Canaanites. Your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.

Ezekiel 16:4

On the day of your birth your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water for cleansing. You were not rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths.

Ezekiel 16:5

No one cared enough for you to do even one of these things out of compassion for you. Instead, you were thrown out into the open field, because you were despised on the day of your birth.

Ezekiel 16:6

Then I passed by and saw you wallowing in your blood, and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, ‘Live!’ There I said to you, ‘Live!’

Ezekiel 16:7

I made you thrive like a plant of the field. You grew up and matured and became very beautiful. Your breasts were formed and your hair grew, but you were naked and bare.

Ezekiel 16:8

Then I passed by and saw you, and you were indeed old enough for love. So I spread My cloak over you and covered your nakedness. I pledged Myself to you, entered into a covenant with you, and you became Mine, declares the Lord GOD.

Ezekiel 16:9

Then I bathed you with water, rinsed off your blood, and anointed you with oil.

Ezekiel 16:10

I clothed you in embroidered cloth and gave you sandals of fine leather. I wrapped you in fine linen and covered you with silk.

Ezekiel 16:11

I adorned you with jewelry, and I put bracelets on your wrists and a chain around your neck.

Ezekiel 16:12

I put a ring in your nose, earrings on your ears, and a beautiful crown upon your head.

Ezekiel 16:13

So you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was made of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour, honey, and oil. You became very beautiful and rose to be queen.

Ezekiel 16:14

Your fame spread among the nations on account of your beauty, for it was perfect in the splendor I bestowed on you, declares the Lord GOD.

Ezekiel 16:15

But because of your fame, you trusted in your beauty and played the harlot. You lavished your favors on everyone who passed by, and your beauty was theirs for the asking.

Ezekiel 16:16

You took some of your garments and made colorful high places for yourself, and on them you prostituted yourself. Such things should not have happened; never should they have occurred!

Ezekiel 16:17

You also took the fine jewelry of gold and silver I had given you, and you made male idols with which to prostitute yourself.

Ezekiel 16:18

You took your embroidered garments to cover them, and you set My oil and incense before them.

Ezekiel 16:19

And you set before them as a pleasing aroma the food I had given you—the fine flour, oil, and honey that I had fed you. That is what happened, declares the Lord GOD.

Ezekiel 16:20

You even took the sons and daughters you bore to Me and sacrificed them as food to idols. Was your prostitution not enough?

Ezekiel 16:21

You slaughtered My children and delivered them up through the fire to idols.

Ezekiel 16:22

And in all your abominations and acts of prostitution, you did not remember the days of your youth when you were naked and bare, wallowing in your own blood.

Ezekiel 16:23

Woe! Woe to you, declares the Lord GOD. And in addition to all your other wickedness,

Ezekiel 16:24

you built yourself a mound and made yourself a lofty shrine in every public square.

Ezekiel 16:25

At the head of every street you built your lofty shrines and degraded your beauty. With increasing promiscuity, you spread your legs to all who passed by.

Ezekiel 16:26

You prostituted yourself with your lustful neighbors, the Egyptians, and increased your promiscuity to provoke Me to anger.

Ezekiel 16:27

Therefore I stretched out My hand against you and reduced your portion. I gave you over to the desire of those who hate you, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your lewd conduct.

Ezekiel 16:28

Then you prostituted yourself with the Assyrians, because you were not yet satisfied. Even after that, you were still not satisfied.

Ezekiel 16:29

So you extended your promiscuity to Chaldea, the land of merchants—but even with this you were not satisfied!

Ezekiel 16:30

How weak-willed is your heart, declares the Lord GOD, while you do all these things, the acts of a shameless prostitute!

Ezekiel 16:31

But when you built your mounds at the head of every street and made your lofty shrines in every public square, you were not even like a prostitute, because you scorned payment.

Ezekiel 16:32

You adulterous wife! You receive strangers instead of your own husband!

Ezekiel 16:33

Men give gifts to all their prostitutes, but you gave gifts to all your lovers. You bribed them to come to you from everywhere for your illicit favors.

Ezekiel 16:34

So your prostitution is the opposite of that of other women: No one solicited your favors, and you paid a fee instead of receiving one; so you are the very opposite!

Ezekiel 16:35

Therefore, O prostitute, hear the word of the LORD!

Ezekiel 16:36

This is what the Lord GOD says: Because you poured out your wealth and exposed your nakedness in your promiscuity with your lovers and with all your detestable idols, and because of the blood of your children which you gave to them,

Ezekiel 16:37

therefore I will surely gather all the lovers with whom you found pleasure, all those you loved and all those you hated. I will gather them against you from all around and expose you before them, and they will see you completely naked.

Ezekiel 16:38

And I will sentence you to the punishment of women who commit adultery and those who shed blood; so I will bring upon you the wrath of your bloodshed and jealousy.

Ezekiel 16:39

Then I will deliver you into the hands of your lovers, and they will level your mounds and tear down your lofty shrines. They will strip off your clothes, take your fine jewelry, and leave you naked and bare.

Ezekiel 16:40

They will bring a mob against you, who will stone you and cut you to pieces with their swords.

Ezekiel 16:41

Then they will burn down your houses and execute judgment against you in the sight of many women. I will put an end to your prostitution, and you will never again pay your lovers.

Ezekiel 16:42

So I will lay to rest My wrath against you, and My jealousy will turn away from you. Then I will be calm and no longer angry.

Ezekiel 16:43

Because you did not remember the days of your youth, but enraged Me with all these things, I will surely bring your deeds down upon your own head, declares the Lord GOD. Have you not committed this lewdness on top of all your other abominations?

Ezekiel 16:44

Behold, all who speak in proverbs will quote this proverb about you: ‘Like mother, like daughter.’

Ezekiel 16:45

You are the daughter of your mother, who despised her husband and children. You are the sister of your sisters, who despised their husbands and children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite.

Ezekiel 16:46

Your older sister was Samaria, who lived with her daughters to your north; and your younger sister was Sodom, who lived with her daughters to your south.

Ezekiel 16:47

And you not only walked in their ways and practiced their abominations, but soon you were more depraved than they were.

Ezekiel 16:48

As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, your sister Sodom and her daughters never did as you and your daughters have done.

Ezekiel 16:49

Now this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed, and complacent; they did not help the poor and needy.

Ezekiel 16:50

Thus they were haughty and committed abominations before Me. Therefore I removed them, as you have seen.

Ezekiel 16:51

Furthermore, Samaria did not commit half the sins you did. You have multiplied your abominations beyond theirs, and all the abominations you have committed have made your sisters appear righteous.

Ezekiel 16:52

So now you must bear your disgrace, since you have brought justification for your sisters. For they appear more righteous than you, because your sins were more vile than theirs. So you too must bear your shame and disgrace, since you have made your sisters appear righteous.

Ezekiel 16:53

But I will restore Sodom and her daughters from captivity, as well as Samaria and her daughters. And I will restore you along with them.

Ezekiel 16:54

So you will bear your disgrace and be ashamed of all you did to comfort them.

Ezekiel 16:55

And your sisters, Sodom with her daughters and Samaria with her daughters, will return to their former state. You and your daughters will also return to your former state.

Ezekiel 16:56

Did you not treat your sister Sodom as an object of scorn in the day of your pride,

Ezekiel 16:57

before your wickedness was uncovered? Even so, you are now scorned by the daughters of Edom and all those around her, and by the daughters of the Philistines—all those around you who despise you.

Ezekiel 16:58

You will bear the consequences of your lewdness and your abominations, declares the LORD.

Ezekiel 16:59

For this is what the Lord GOD says: I will deal with you according to your deeds, since you have despised the oath by breaking the covenant.

Ezekiel 16:60

But I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you.

Ezekiel 16:61

Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your older and younger sisters. I will give them to you as daughters, but not because of My covenant with you.

Ezekiel 16:62

So I will establish My covenant with you, and you will know that I am the LORD,

Ezekiel 16:63

so that when I make atonement for all you have done, you will remember and be ashamed and never again open your mouth because of your disgrace, declares the Lord GOD.”

Ezekiel 22:1

Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

Ezekiel 22:2

“As for you, son of man, will you judge her? Will you pass judgment on the city of bloodshed? Then confront her with all her abominations

Ezekiel 22:3

and tell her that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘O city who brings her own doom by shedding blood within her walls and making idols to defile herself,

Ezekiel 22:4

you are guilty of the blood you have shed, and you are defiled by the idols you have made. You have brought your days to a close and have come to the end of your years. Therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations and a mockery to all the lands.

Ezekiel 22:5

Those near and far will mock you, O infamous city, full of turmoil.

Ezekiel 22:6

See how every prince of Israel within you has used his power to shed blood.

Ezekiel 22:7

Father and mother are treated with contempt. Within your walls the foreign resident is exploited, the fatherless and the widow are oppressed.

Ezekiel 22:8

You have despised My holy things and profaned My Sabbaths.

Ezekiel 22:9

Among you are slanderous men bent on bloodshed; within you are those who eat on the mountain shrines and commit acts of indecency.

Ezekiel 22:10

In you they have uncovered the nakedness of their fathers; in you they violate women during their menstrual impurity.

Ezekiel 22:11

One man commits an abomination with his neighbor’s wife; another wickedly defiles his daughter-in-law; and yet another violates his sister, his own father’s daughter.

Ezekiel 22:12

In you they take bribes to shed blood. You engage in usury, take excess interest, and extort your neighbors. But Me you have forgotten, declares the Lord GOD.

Ezekiel 22:13

Now look, I strike My hands together against your unjust gain and against the blood you have shed in your midst.

Ezekiel 22:14

Will your courage endure or your hands be strong in the day I deal with you? I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will act.

Ezekiel 22:15

I will disperse you among the nations and scatter you throughout the lands; I will purge your uncleanness.

Ezekiel 22:16

And when you have defiled yourself in the eyes of the nations, then you will know that I am the LORD.’”

Ezekiel 22:17

Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

Ezekiel 22:18

“Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to Me. All of them are copper, tin, iron, and lead inside the furnace; they are but the dross of silver.

Ezekiel 22:19

Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because all of you have become dross, behold, I will gather you into Jerusalem.

Ezekiel 22:20

Just as one gathers silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin into the furnace to melt with a fiery blast, so I will gather you in My anger and wrath, leave you there, and melt you.

Ezekiel 22:21

Yes, I will gather you together and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you will be melted within the city.

Ezekiel 22:22

As silver is melted in a furnace, so you will be melted within the city. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have poured out My wrath upon you.’”

Ezekiel 22:23

And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

Luke 13:34

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling!

Revelation 11:2

But exclude the courtyard outside the temple. Do not measure it, because it has been given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for 42 months.

Revelation 11:8

Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city—figuratively called Sodom and Egypt—where their Lord was also crucified.

Isaiah 5:7

For the vineyard of the LORD of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the plant of His delight. He looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard a cry of distress.

2 Samuel 8:15

Thus David reigned over all Israel and administered justice and righteousness for all his people:

2 Chronicles 19:9

He commanded them, saying, “You must serve faithfully and wholeheartedly in the fear of the LORD.

Micah 3:2

You hate good and love evil. You tear the skin from my people and strip the flesh from their bones.

Micah 3:3

You eat the flesh of my people after stripping off their skin and breaking their bones. You chop them up like flesh for the cooking pot, like meat in a cauldron.”

Zephaniah 3:1

Woe to the city of oppressors, rebellious and defiled!

Zephaniah 3:2

She heeded no voice; she accepted no correction. She does not trust in the LORD; she has not drawn near to her God.

Zephaniah 3:3

Her princes are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves, leaving nothing for the morning.

Acts 7:52

Which of the prophets did your fathers fail to persecute? They even killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One. And now you are His betrayers and murderers—